Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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As you may recall, Butters was diagnosed with an osteosarcoma in his left rear leg on 1/7/17; amputation 1/23/17; sutures out 2/10
He received his first round of carboplatin on 2/15 and suffered no side effects that we could tell! He received his second round of carbo on 3/9. We're 4 days post chemo and, again, we aren't seeing any side effects. He has a cbc check 10 days post treatment and one the day of treatment. All of his numbers look great according to the vet.
a few extra things going on -- he's been getting weekly adequan injections in his remaining back leg. Because his mobility still wasn't great with the adequan, we started him back on deramaxx which seems to make a huge difference. He has other arthritis issues going on, so this seems to really help with that and, in turn, his overall mobility. Kidney function is a concern with deramaxx, but his kidney and liver numbers were great as of 3/9.
None of this matters to Butters. What matters to Butters is that he has been swimming a LOT! We've been keeping the pool heated and he gets to swim whenever he wants. One night he snuck in at 10:30 at night! That's okay though... because it makes him happy! We did get him a ruff wear float coat . He doesn't NEED it per se, but it keeps him lifted about an extra 1-2 inches out of the water which allows him to swim for much longer without getting too tired. He's probably snuck in 8-10 times without the float coat and been just fine. I've got a video of him swimming and you can really see him just using that one back leg -- I'll figure out how to post it!
This is all to say ... everything is going well with Butters, we are very happy we decided to do the amputation and chemo, and we are savoring every single moment with him!
Thank you again for everyone's kindness and advice back when the days didn't seem so bright!
Very cool that he has his very own pool! That is a great way for him to be active even with the arthritis.
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
Hey Butters, you are a real fish! Are you sure you didn't grow a fin where that leg was? Keep on rockin my friend! You're so lucky to have a heated pool to swim in, because that's exactly what's recommended by rehab therapists.
Yeah, most Tripawds can swim without a K9 Float Coat. But you're so right: it helps them swim longer and get less tired. We noticed a huge difference with Jerry when he first started using one. Tripawds have to work hard enough on land, we owe it to them to make it as easy peasy to get around in water, which a float coat does and is why we recommend them for Tripawds.
So when is the Tripawds summer pool party? We're there! 😉
P.S. It's cool seeing the movie in Butter's blog. But free Tripawds blogs have a limited amount of server space. This is fine for most photos but if you want to upload lots more cool movies quickly and easily to your blog, consider becoming a Tripawds Supporter. Supporter status gives you lots of room for videos and photos and of course, helps offset costs of keeping the community online. Otherwise, uploading your videos to a YouTube channel and then copying/pasting the video URL into Butters' blog is easily done. Make sense? Let me know!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
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That was sich a great video! Butters is definitely smiling! He really has good swimming form and makes it look so effortless!
DEEEELIGHTFUL to hear how well he's doing 🙂 Love how he takes himself swimming anytime he wants too!
Keep these great updates coming!
Hugs!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
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